BEHAVIOUR OF SOME WALNUT, HAZELNUT AND SWEET CHESTNUT CULTIVARS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FROM SOUTH OF ROMANIA

The nut crops are important for their valuable fruits and for their potential to increase the economic growth of Romania. The Southern part of Romania which includes the regions of Oltenia and Muntenia is known for its favourable conditions for fruit growing and in particular for nut crops like walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut. During the last two decades at University of Craiova - SCDP Vâlcea several cultivars trials were set up in order to compare the Romanian and foreign cultivars and to establish the most favourable ones for culture in this part of the country. This study presents the behaviour of 19 walnut cultivars (9 Romanian ones and 10 of foreignorigin), 19 hazelnut cultivars (8 Romanian and 11 foreign ones) and 11 cultivars and hybrids of sweet chestnut (3 Romanian and 8 of foreign origin). Due to the results obtained several cultivars of walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut are recommended to be propagated and planted into the orchards from southern part of Romania

Evaluation of the Genetic Diversity of several Corylus avellana Accessions from the Romanian National Hazelnut Collection

Romanian hazelnut (Corylus avellana) germplasm is held in a national collection at SCDP Valcea. A clear situation of the held accessions is necessary for an efficient management of the germplasm collection. In order to achieve this, the genetic variability of 43 accessions was assessed using 23 RAPD primers. The RAPD analysis was carried out as a screening test to confirm the genetic identity of some accessions. Based on the screening results, 12 accessions were selected for analysis using nine SSR primers. A high level of genetic diversity was observed (He=0.75, Ho=0.81, F=-0.061) among the analyzed samples. A genetic similarity matrix was constructed and the resulting UPGMA dendrogram revealed three major groups, corresponding to the geographical origin of the accessions. In order to increase the effectiveness of genebank management, the identification of duplicate and mislabeled accessions with the aid of molecular markers is of high interest, especially being the first one of this kind in a Romanian hazelnut germplasm collection